ODM party leader Raila Odinga. /CFM-FILE.
NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 28 – ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga insists the implementation of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report through a referendum would be the best route to ensure Kenyans get to decide on the fate of the proposals contained in the report.
Speaking on Citizen Television, the ODM party leader said a parliamentary route would dilute the contents of the report and lockout Kenyans from expressing their views by approving or rejecting the document.
“There are certain parts of the constitution which cannot be amended by Parliament. Where you need to change the Constitution, it is not right to have parallel processes,” he said.
Odinga, the handshake partner to President Uhuru Kenyatta, made the remarks even as he hinted that further changes might be made in the 156-page document before Kenyans ultimately get to decide on its viability.
He said the changes that he would wish to see ostensibly would be the reinforcement on the proposal on the creation of the Prime Minister’s post.
He particularly noted the remuneration package of the Prime Minister should be enhanced insisting that the holder of the office would not only be acting as Member of Parliament but also serving as a member of the Executive.
“Where there is also need for improvement is the remuneration of the Prime Minister. Because what we are doing in this new arrangement, we are bringing the Executive in Parliament that is why it is called a hybrid system of governance,” he said in the interview from his Bondo rural.
According to the report which was released by the 14-member taskforce chaired by Senator Yussu Haji of Garissa, the Prime Minister shall have supervision and execution of the day-to-day functions and affairs of the Government.
The Prime Minister shall be the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly.
On the President’s tasking, the Prime Minister will chair Cabinet sub-committees.
In the exercise of his authority, the Prime Minister shall perform or cause to be performed any matter or matters which the President directs to be done, the report states, also proposing that the Prime Minister will continue to earn his or her salary as a Member of Parliament with no additional salary for the prime ministerial role.
Odinga, who was a beneficiary of the 2007 – 2008 coalition government that was brokered between him and former President Mwai Kibaki, after a divisive electioneering period served as the head of government business with his ODM Party given half of the ministerial positions when he was named Prime Minister.
Soon after its launch on November 27, 2019 at the Bomas of Kenya, a section of ODM Party leaders expressed discontent on the structure of the Prime Minister’s slot, and instead rooted for a powerful Prime Minister with two deputies.
The remarks of Odinga, the AU special envoy for Infrastructure, on the changes to be made on the report is likely to spark fury especially from allies of the Deputy President William Ruto who believe that he is out to scuttle Ruto’s chances of succeeding President Kenyatta in 2022.
At the same time, Odinga reiterated the need for Kenyans to read the document ahead of the national conference set for next month.
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